Sunday, June 10, 2007

I remember the time that we climbed Anak Krakatau (12 years ago?) at one point we started having problem breathing, I remember it seemed like someone tried to strangled Italo...very scary.

But the thing that impressed me most was our shoes started to disintegrate by simply walking on the surface of tip of Anak Krakatau (the rest of the volcano is underwater). For sure because of the heat, but I think may be the sulphur somehow reacted with the glue of the shoes...

Anyway, we destroyed some pairs of shoes, got serious asphyxiation, but it was worth it...

Btw, it seems like not a lot of people know, Krakatau eruption in 1883 actually determined the history of US as well

The eruption was so powerful that change the whole world, average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2 degrees Celsius. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years, and temperatures did not return to normal until 1888.

This caused bad harvest of Kennedy family, who at that time lived in Ireland.. forced them to migrate to US… and the rest is history. If it were not for Krakatau, JFK would not be a president.

Theories as to the origin of the Indonesian name Krakatau include:

- Onomatopoeia, imitating the noise made by white parrots that used to inhabit the island.- From Sanskrit karka or karkata or karkataka, meaning "lobster" or "crab".- From Malayan kelakatu, meaning "white-winged ant".

There is a popular story that Krakatau was the result of a linguistic error. According to legend, "Krakatau" was adopted when a visiting ship's captain asked a local inhabitant the island's name, and the latter replied "Kaga tau" — a Jakartan/Betawinese slang phrase meaning "I don't know".